Research in Motion annoucned that its music-sharing application for its popular messaging service will be available for downloading in the U.S., Canada and Australia today.

BBM Music allows BlackBerry users to select 50 songs from a catalog of of tracks
for their personal playlists. BBM users can share songs from that list with
friends who use the instant messaging service. The more BBM friends with BBM
Music Premium subscriptions a user has, the more songs he or she can share.

With BBM Music, users can grow and keep their music selection fresh by swapping
songs every month and by inviting friends to gain access to their music. When
users invite friends to BBM Music, they get access to their friends' musical
playlist; they can build new playlists that include their songs and their
friends' songs, they can comment on their friends' music and they can start a
chat with any of their BBM friends from within the BBM Music app in real time.

Users can also cache their BBM music (or save music to their microSD card) for
offline listening.

RIM is offering a Premium Subscription version and a Free Subscription version -
here's what those options include:

PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION: The Premium 'full track' BBM Music experience is available
for a monthly subscription of $4.99 USD ($4.99 CDN and $5.99 AUD). The Premium
version will feature a free Premium trial offer - users can use all the features
of a Premium subscription for a limited time.

FREE SUBSCRIPTION: There will also be a Free subscription to the service that
delivers the same social experience as the Premium subscription, but with 30
second song previews versus full song tracks. After the Free Premium trial offer
period ends, users can opt to continue using BBM Music without a paid
subscription by using this Free subscription. Users can also upgrade from a Free
subscription to a Premium subscription at any time.